Ukraine tried to attack Russia's Kirishi oil refinery, governor says

MOSCOW - Ukraine attacked one of Russia's biggest oil refineries on Tuesday, sparking a fire in an industrial area of Kirishi town in the Leningrad region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said.

"The enemy's main target was the (Kirishinefteorgsintez) oil refinery," Drozdenko said, adding there were no casualties. A blaze that was triggered by the attack was contained, he said.

The Ukrainian security service SBU confirmed via Telegram it had carried out a "successful attack" on oil refinery facilities in the Russian Leningrad region, and said "a tank containing petroleum products was struck."

The Kirishinefteorgsintez oil refinery, one of Russia's largest, processed 17.5 million metric tons of oil (350,000 barrels per day) in 2024, or 6.6% of Russia's total oil refining volumes, industry sources say.

It produced 2 million tons of gasoline, 7.1 million tons of diesel, 6.1 million tons of fuel oil and 600,000 tons of bitumen.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X on Tuesday that Kyiv attacked several Russian targets overnight, including defence manufacturing facilities in the city of Cheboksary.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defence forces destroyed 289 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Bernadette Baum)

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 7:07 AM.